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Welcome to my town, Frankfort Kentucky. Well, I’m not too proud to say, they’ve been calling me the Father of the Modern Bourbon Industry for a while now. I suppose I did have a hand in building quite a number of the distilleries on that Bourbon Pole that’s over there on the corner.
Let’s see, across the street, above the ice cream shop, that’s where I went to school. Mr. B.B. Sayre was one of the most celebrated teachers in Kentucky, I’ll profess. Many of his students, including – if I may say so – myself, went on to have great influence in government and industry in our state and in our nation.
My uncle’s bank was just down St. Clair Street toward the bridge, and that’s where I got my start in the banking business. Turns out, being in banking can give you a leg up in many an industry and by the early 1860s, I was investing in distilling.
My business partners – Gaines, Barry, and I – lent a helping hand to James E. Pepper at his family distillery near Versailles. You know it as that fine Woodford Reserve. Soon, we built the Hermitage Distillery just on the other side of the river here, where we produced more sour mash whiskey than any other distillery in the United States, following the scientific processes first established by the legendary distiller, James C. Crow.
For many years I had my offices and warehouse just down the block in that yellow, three-story building. But, once this seven-story McClure Building was built right here on this corner, I moved my office to the 5th floor. I liked the view much, much better.
For Stop #2 on our tour, let’s cross Main Street – watch out now for that horse and buggy! Stroll toward the bridge and the river, and I’ll tell you a distilling story of disastrous proportions.
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